by Rev. Eric Folkerth

“Only, live your life in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ, so that, whether I come and see you or am absent and hear about you, I will know that you are standing firm in one spirit, striving side by side with one mind for the faith of the gospel…”

Philippians 1: 27

This verse spoke to me this morning, as I sat down to write to you. It’s from a moment in  Paul’s letters to the Philippians in the first chapter. And it speaks of the yearning he has to see them, and the yearning they clearly have for him.

We are feeling that yearning right now, aren’t we?

We remain in the midst of an unprecedented “pandemic” and we are all taking steps to keep one another safe. That is why, once again this Sunday, we will not meet for public worship.

We invite you to find us on Facebook Live…either at 11 am Sunday, or at some point after that time. I know that not everyone has a Facebook account., but the beautiful thing is *anyone* with computer access can watch the video. Find us on Facebook HERE.:

And if you missed last Sunday, you can watch it HERE.

As you’ll see elsewhere in the newsletter, if you are watching live, we will have the ability to take your prayer concerns and fold them into Ken Kelley’s “Prayers of the People.”

We will also, as we did last week, provide a link to a bulletin that you can download and use to follow along…and we’ll provide other links during worship to try and make the experience interactive. We have the ability to “chat” with you during the broadcast….hopefully bridging some of the distance. (Again, even if you miss the live broadcast, when you watch at a later time, those links will still appear for you…)

Friends, while social distancing is absolutely the right call for us right now, we are aware of the isolation and challenges it presents. And, we are equally aware that many of us may face financial hardships in coming weeks, should the call to social distancing continue.

Let me share with you some steps we are taking.

Connecting During COVID:

We have volunteers who will run errands for those who are shut in and unable to get out. We intend to offer this not only to our members, but anyone in North Oak Cliff who needs assistance.

If you would either:

1. Like to volunteer to help, or

2. Need assistance yourself…

Please CLICK ON THIS FORM and we will be in touch.

Connecting Via Livestream
In addition to Sunday worship, we intend to have our staff “go live” for various devotionals and conversation time. Look for those on Facebook and announced by email.

Connecting Via Phone
Our staff is reaching out to people via phone, to check in with them, and to insure they are OK during this time. If we haven’t called you yet, feel free to give us a nudge. We’re happy to call you any time.

Remember that we are reachable via the church’s phone system any time. If you leave a message at our extensions, an app on our cell phones notifies us. We will then call you back at the earliest possible moment.

Supporting Local Businesses

During this crisis, I know that like me you are especially worried about those who are hourly-workers, whose businesses are temporarily shutting. We have many “local” businesses in North Oak Cliff, and many of us love to “buy local.” Several of you have suggested buying “gift certificates” from these businesses, to help support them during the shut down. That allows them ready-cash for now, while they are unable to be open.

Justice for Those Less Fortunate

Finally, I was honored to be a part of a group of clergy from Faith Forward Dallas who sent an urgent letter to our Mayor and County Judge. (I was honored to actually write the letter for our group…). Our request of these city leaders was the following:

1. A moratorium on evictions.

2. A moratorium on utility disconnections.

3. That this moratorium extend for 90-days following the end of the governmentally imposed request to stay at home.

As faith leaders, we believe justice and compassion dictates that we find ways to ease the undue burden on hourly workers and on the working class that this shut down creates. For us, this command comes out of Jesus’ command to love our neighbors as ourselves. (The 90-day extension will allow hourly workers a chance to have income before being asked to catch up on their bills…)

I am told that these requests were well received by our city leaders (As I know you’d expect) and that portions of them are already implemented as of this morning.

And finally, I would hope you would prayerfully consider continuing your tithes and offerings to Kessler Park during this challenging time. Our goal will obviously be to pay our essential bills for the building and staff, to allow us to bridge this challenging time.

If you’ve never given online, consider doing it now, and consider setting up regular online giving on our DONATION PAGE. Thank you for this consideration.

As of this writing, we are unsure just how long our public worship will be cancelled. Expect an update from me on this later in the week.

For now, know that God is with us. God walks with us in our isolation and our connection. The church is not a building, but people seeking to serve their community. This crisis challenges our ability to do this. But through creative ways, God’s grace, and patience we will move through this time, “whether together or apart.”

Grace and Peace,

Eric Folkerth